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Mindfulness and the Moment

There’s only one way to be mindful – that is to be present in the moment. Present to the feelings in your body. Present to the focus of your mind. When you are mindful, you’re filled with the power and beauty and simplicity of the present moment. It’s a powerful and impressive place to be.

Corral your wandering mind

“What if’s” get in the way. We spend time thinking about what has not even happened and may never happen. That’s not productive.

The tendency to plan needs to be modified too. It’s about control – if we do this, then that will occur. When you begin to live in the moment and allow your life to unfold, nothing is to be considered but the next step. You choose in the moment.

Be attentively curious

When you’re mindful, you hear the sounds of silence. You feel your cat breathing under your hand. You notice your own body and perhaps sit up a bit straighter, or relax your shoulders. You actually hear the sound of silence.

Be attentive and curious in whatever you’re doing. You’ll hear the subtleties of nature and feel the Qi energy moving through your body.

Bring mindfulness to your actions

The practice of Chi Walking asks us to be aware not only of our posture but also of how we place each foot. Yoga asks us to breathe into a tight place and invite the breath to release. The mere act of eating mindfully will totally change your experience of nourishing your body. Act with mindfulness.

Create a mindfulness reminder

Mindfulness takes practice. To develop the habit of mindfulness we need a trigger, a nudge, a reminder to bring our mind back from its wandering and allow our entire being to be present.

When I’m working at my computer, I have a timer that calls to me every 20 minutes. It’s a signal for me to check my body for poor posture, tight muscles and too much intensity focused on my work.

When I stand up, I take a moment to stand straight and tall, to invite all the proper muscles to do their work correctly.

There are times I simply listen – to the world around me, to my own rambling thoughts – and make a conscious choice to still my mind and simply “be” for a moment.

Cultivate Wu Wei

In his book Do Nothing and Do Everything, Quiguang Zhao says, “Wu Wei is a behavior that arises from a sense of being connected to the world. Your inner voices, the voice of nature, and your intuition are your connection to the Tao.”

Listen to your inner voices and those intuitive nudges that invite an aligned action. Listen to the rhythm of nature, the natural flow that has no calendar, or watch what simply unfolds in the perfect time.